Electric air circulating heater



June 13, 1950 c. K. YEAMANS ELECTRIC AIR CIRCULATING HEATER Filed Feb. 11, 1947 Charles Ii. Yealnam Patented June 13, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims. 1

This invention relates generally to heating and ventilating apparatus and is directed particularly to novel means for warming and cooling particular bodies, especially mattresses.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel apparatus whereby the mattress of a bed may be ventilated and cooled in the summer time or may be warmed in the winter by introducting warm air into the body of the mattress or by drawing air out from within the same as desired;

A further and more specific object of the invention is to provide a novel air heating and circulating unit which is adapted to be coupled with an air vent opening in the side wall of a mattress and which may be stood under or adjacent to the bed upon which the mattress is placed and operated to warm the mattress by blowing heated air thereinto or to cool the mattress by sucking the air out of the same.

The invention will b best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming a part of the specification, with the understanding, however, that th invention is not confined to a strict conformit with the showing of the drawing but may be changed or modified so long as such changes or modifications mark no material departure from th salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a view partly in vertical section and partly in side elevation of an apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention whereby the introduction of warm air into or the extraction of air from a mattress may be ac-' complished.

Figure 2 is a view in top plan of the unit with the air conductor tube removed therefrom.

Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a View in elevation of a portion of a mattress body showing th usual screened vent openings with one of which the air heater and circulator shown in Figure l is connected.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing there is shown in Figure 1 the air circulating and heating apparatus forming a part of the present invention. This unit as shown is in the form of a hood or housing, here shown as being of circular cross section and generally designated l8. This housing has an open underside or bottom portion II and the sid wall l2 of the housing merges into a horizontal top wall l3 which is continued upwardly at the vertical center of the 2. housing to form the outlet nozzle and coupling H.

The open undersid of the housing is maintained a slight distance above the floor or other surface by the supporting legs l5 whereby air may be drawn upwardly into the housing or discharged downwardl therefrom as desired.

Within the housing H1 adjacent to the open lower part thereof, is mounted an air heating unit which is generally designated I6. This heating unit may be of any suitable character and may be mounted in any desired manner. The structure here shown comprises a ring I! of insulation material within which is supported an electrical incandescent heater which comprises a plurality of resistant coils I8 connected in series in the usual manner of heating devices of this kind. This unit-is supported by providing a number of inwardly directed lugs [9 upon the inner surface of the wall l2, to which the insulation ring I! is secured by suitable attaching units such as bolts 2 0 or the like.

Within the housing above the heating unit I6 is supported an electric motor with th shaft coaxial with the nozzle l4. The downwardly directed end of the motor armature shaft, not shown, carries a fan unit which is generally designated 22 and which when operated in one direction draws air in through the open lower end II of the housing through the heater, for discharge through the nozzle l4 and when operated in the opposite direction it draws the air in through the nozzle l4 and discharges it downwardly through the open bottom of the housing. Accordingly it will be understood that this motor is of the reversible, variable speed type.

While the motor 2| may be mounted in any suitable manner, it is here shown as supported by a series of lugs 23 secured at the inner end of the nozzle 14 and bolted to the motor housing by the securing elements or bolts 24.

Adapted for connection at one end with the nozzle M of the housing [0, is an air tube or hose 25, th other end of which is designed to be connected with an opening in one side wall of the mattress which is to be heated or cooled b the present device.

The numeral 26 generally designates a portion of a conventionally illustrated mattress, looking at the side wall thereof. As is well known mattresses of the inner spring type are equipped in the side Walls with ventilating openings which are usually covered by a screen so that as the mattress is used, the movements of the occupant thereof will cause air to move into and out of the mattress through such ventilating openings.

In accordance with the present invention the openings 2'! in the side walls of the mattress have secured thereover the apertured inner and outer plates 28 and 29 respectively, the outer plate carrying the tubular coupling or nozzle 38 with which the other end of the air conducting pipe or tube 25 is connected.

A suitable screen in the form of a wire fabric is interposed between the apertured plates 28 and 29 to cover the opening in the mattress wall, such screen being designated 3|.

In the use of the present invention if it should be desired to cool and ventilate the mattress the unit is connected with one of the vent openings in a wall of the mattress and the fan 22 is operated by the motor 2| in a direction to draw the air from within the mattress and discharge it through the open underside l l of the housing.

As will be readily apparent in operating the unit in this fashion air will be drawn in through one of the screened vent openings and then extracted through the opening to which the tube 25 is attached.

If it should be desired to warm the inside or interior of the mattress then the direction of rotation of the fan22 is reversed by the electric motor 2| and electric current is run from a suitable source through the resistant units l8 to heat the latter to incandescence. The air is then drawn in through the bottom of the housing and forced through the tube 25 into the mattress through which it will flow to one of the screened ports through whichit escapes. From the foregoing it will be readily apparent that there is provided in the present invention a simple but efficient means for heating or cooling a mattress structure whereby its use in winter or summer may be made more comfortable.

I claim:

within the housing and having an armature shaft coaxial with the nozzle, one end of the motor being disposed within the lower end of the nozzle, lugs spaced about the nozzle opening in the top wall of said housing, bolts for removably securing said motor to said lugs, a fan carried upon said shaft, supporting legs for the housing maintain ing the open lower end raised from a supporting surface, an annulus removably supported within the lower end of the housing, a heating unit supported within said annulus, and a duct leading from said nozzle for conveying the heated air to a place of need.

1. An air conditioner and circulator of the character and for the purpose set forth, comprising a vertical housing having an open lower end, a nozzle leading from a central opening in the top wall of said housing, an electric motor supported 2. An air conditioner and circulator of the character stated in claim 1 wherein the said annulus is supported from the underside of a plurality of other lugs secured in spaced relation about the side wall of and within the housing and is removably secured thereto by bolts.

' CHARLES K. YEAMANS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 96,989 Somes Nov. 16, 1869 389,420 Sutton Sept. 11, 1888 1,142,876 Davis June 15, 1915 1,817,277 Uhlig Aug. 4, 1931 1,936,960 Bowman Nov. 28, 1933 2,059,226 Gates Nov. 3, 1936 2,235,966 Summers Mar. 25, 1941 2,259,712 Sweetland Oct. 21, 1941 2,304,042 Upton Dec. 1, 1942 2,385,295 MacGregor Sept. 18, 1945 2,405,783 Gardenhour Aug. 13, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 22,573 Great Britain Nov. 8, 1901 null- 

